Volume 3 Chapter 30 Talking and Laughing
"Your Majesty...I, your servant..."
Faced with the sudden visit of Emperor Zhao, even though Chief Zhang was a descendant of fishermen and had firm revolutionary beliefs, the limitations of the times still made him a little at a loss for a moment. He didn't know whether to salute, how to salute, or even what to address.
"It's my fault," Zhao Jiu immediately pulled the other party's hands and changed his words. "Today I came here for a private visit. I don't mention me, and Chief Zhang doesn't have to call me a vassal, let alone perform a ceremony. These empty gestures can be done tomorrow when we arrive at the palace."
Zhang Rong then gave up.
In this way, both parties sat down together with Scholar Xiaolin. Emperor Zhao first signaled Qu Duan to take away the smelly head, and then asked the chefs of Xiangguo Temple to bring some iced sour soup, and then he continued:
"How big is Liangshan Lake?"
"Is there an island in the water called Liangshan?"
"North or south, or right in the middle?"
"Have you ever interacted with Song Jiang back then?"
"Is there a gathering hall?"
"Have the leaders ever arranged their seats?"
"It's a pity that the leader didn't come when we were in Heyin that day. Otherwise, I would have brought the Central Army, the Rear Army, and the Western Army with me. I would have gathered 72 heroes no matter what..."
It was a hot summer day, and in the afternoon, cicadas were chirping non-stop. Emperor Zhao was talking with great joy, letting himself go for a moment. He didn't notice that Chief Zhang was fidgeting, nor did he notice that Qu Duan was indignant behind him.
There is no way. As a time traveler, how can I not be interested in the real master of Liangshanpo?
Moreover, Emperor Zhao had actually been traveling through time for almost two years, and he had inquired about this Chief Zhang in detail. He knew that he was different from Song Jiang, who briefly flashed by and then disappeared on the real historical stage. This Chief Zhang was a real local hero. There were tens of thousands of fishermen in the water, and it was difficult for the government soldiers to encircle and suppress them during the Fengheng and Yuda periods. After Jianyan, he fought hard against the Jin people and remained undefeated. He was a real uprising leader and anti-Jin hero.
Not to mention, in the battle of Shoutoutan in the past and the recent victory in Dongping Prefecture, this man cooperated well with Yue Fei and achieved outstanding results.
To be honest, this man's contribution in the victory of Shoutoutan, which almost saved the lives of Emperor Zhao of Huaishang and his small court, was even greater than that of Yue Fei!
Of course, the most important thing is that Emperor Zhao was determined to fight against the Jin Dynasty. He was an official for two years and had an ideological struggle with the traditional Zhao Song central government for two years. An important manifestation of this struggle was to break the previous military thinking of defending the interior and weakening the exterior... He really had no discomfort with the rebellious experience of this leader Zhang.
On the contrary, for some reason, based on the other party's background and experience, Zhao Jiu had an inexplicable expectation and respect for this leader Zhang.
Moreover, even if he had to consider the broken chair under his butt, it seemed unnecessary to make a fuss about it now... In any case, didn't they come anyway? And they came with Kong Yanzhou's head and Liu Lin, a living person.
The achievements made so far and today's meeting are enough to prove the reliability, practicality and most basic position of this military organization and this person.
Therefore, both sides can certainly put aside those political issues for the time being and shake hands and talk peaceably.
After talking for a long time, Zhang Rong saw that this long-famous official acted freely and did not seem to be hypocritical. In addition, after all, he was not an ordinary and unruly person. He gradually realized that even if the official wanted to win him over, there was no need to do so. So he gradually relaxed and his words became smoother... He followed the other party's words and told many anecdotes about the world.
Moreover, the official also told him many stories about heroes in the martial arts world that he didn't know and even found surprising... How Wu Song, a monk among Song Jiang's followers, killed a tiger alive in Yanggu, and how Lu Tingjie from Guanxi was beaten up and forced to become a monk... It was not until Lu Tingjie came to Xiangguo Temple and actually uprooted a weeping willow tree that Zhang Rong realized that when the official boasted, he was no different from ordinary people.
However, the more this happened, the more relaxed the two of them became… But once one person relaxed, he started talking more, and inevitably made mistakes.
"By the way, is Chief Zhang a native of Liangshan?" Emperor Zhao was as curious as usual.
"No." Zhang Rong answered immediately. "I was born in Jeju, southwest of Liangshan Lake, which is quite far from Liangshan, the northernmost part of the lake..."
"Then why did you go to Liangshan and become the leader of the stronghold?" Emperor Zhao asked almost without thinking, and it seemed like an unintentional mistake, but it caused Scholar Xiaolin standing beside him to be slightly startled, but he remained speechless.
Zhang Rong also remained silent.
"Is there anything to be shy about?" Emperor Zhao didn't care.
"It's because of the mountain on the Flower and Stone Gang." Zhang Rongqing knew he couldn't shirk his responsibility, and he had always been on guard in his heart, so he simply gritted his teeth and answered to see how the official would react. "It was such a big stone that the canal couldn't carry it, so we used the Sishui River to transport it, but it was still slow. Many bridges were demolished and many houses were destroyed along the way. The local fishing tyrants took advantage of the situation and didn't allow us to ferry and fish. Because I have always been the fisherman on the southwest side of the water, and because our Yuncheng County Magistrate Shi Wenbin had a good reputation at the time, I was elected to look for him... But before Shi the Magistrate was seen, the fishing tyrants found the county head first, and they arrested me directly in the city, beat me with a stick and sent me to jail. Even if I don't tell you what happened later, the official should know roughly what happened."
Zhao Jiu nodded slightly and seemed to be thinking about something: "Shi Wenbin died in the battle of Xiacai that day. Does Chief Zhang know about this?"
Zhang Rong was stunned for a rare moment, thinking that Shi Wenbin had died for his country. He couldn't help but sigh, "Actually, I know that County Magistrate Shi is a good man, but the world is like this, and he can't control many people."
Zhao Jiu kept shaking his head: "Everything is the fault of those below, so why do we need people above? In my opinion, everything in the world should be blamed on those above."
Not to mention that Zhang Rong had a dark face but a bright heart, and his heart was slightly moved for a moment. Even Qu Duan, who was behind Emperor Zhao, couldn't help but breathe heavily when he heard this.
Emperor Zhao seemed to have just remembered that there was a deputy commander of the Imperial Camp beside him, so he turned around on the stone bench and pointed behind him: "Chief Zhang, please look, this deputy commander Qu was beaten with twenty lashes in public when he entered the capital because he could not control his subordinates."
Zhang Rong was slightly stunned, not knowing whether he should greet him or not. But seeing that man's face turned from red to white, and then from white to red, but he never uttered a word, the leader of Liangshanpo finally resisted the urge to greet him.
Meanwhile, the official continued to talk, saying casually, "For example, the Emperor Taishang Daojun, for a certain Genyue, caused the people in the southeast to both sides of the Grand Canal, and even around the Jishui and Sishui rivers to suffer. In the south, there was the Fang La Rebellion, and in the north, Song Jiang was rampant in Hebei and the sea. Even the chieftains were forced to join the Liangshan Rebellion. The whole country was in ruins, so when the Jin people came, he went north to hunt... It can be seen that the people above are always involved."
The logic of this statement is confusing and unclear.
But Qu Duan was originally angry, but after hearing this, he was so shocked that he didn't even dare to be angry. When Zhang Rong heard this, although he knew there were many explanations, he couldn't help but feel relieved for a moment. He felt that he had let out a breath of anger that he had been holding back all his life, and also let out the nameless anger that was holding back in his chest today.
Only Scholar Kobayashi remained silent. His shrewdness is truly admirable.
"Of course, it's still the same reason." Zhao Jiu continued to speak casually. "I was forced to Huaishang by the Jin people and had to fight. At first, I was resentful and felt that this was unfair. Why did my father and brother make such a mess, but I had to drink it? Only these days did I gradually figure it out. It was fine before I ascended the throne, but the situation after ascending the throne is not easy to push to others. If I hadn't been depressed before, abandoned the two rivers, and hesitated for a long time in Mingdao Palace, how could there be a dilemma on Huaishang? Even last year, if I hadn't been comfortable in Nanyang for a long time and hadn't made proper arrangements, why would I have to risk my life to go to Yanling to seize military power? The affairs of the past life are a lesson for the future. As a big leader, we must always take responsibility , Chief Zhang, don't you think so?"
Zhang Rong finally stood up and bowed to the emperor, saying, "Your Majesty is absolutely right."
Zhao Jiu couldn't help but laugh, but he reached out and pulled the other person to sit down again: "I just said it casually, I just said a few more words because I was afraid that the chieftain would be suspicious... That's it, we will discuss the important matters in the palace tomorrow."
Zhang Rong then sat down again.
At this moment, Emperor Zhao laughed again: "In fact, Liu Lin's last sentence almost moved me, but I was holding back and didn't respond..."
Zhang Rong didn't know what the sentence was for a moment, and couldn't help feeling a little bewildered. However, Qu Duan behind him became even paler. He felt that following this official out today was a great experience for him... In terms of domineering, how could he be more domineering than this official?
Turning to the stone table, Emperor Zhao and Zhang Rong continued to sit down and chat, but it was already late, the monks had served sour soup three times, and before they could say a few words, the sun was setting. It was obvious that they could not stay any longer, and Emperor Zhao could only shake hands and say yes. It was not convenient for them to sleep together, so he formally got up and made an appointment with Zhang Rong to see each other again tomorrow.
However, at this moment, Zhao Jiu noticed that Zhang Rong's attendants had already gathered in the corridor to watch since he did not know when. When they saw him stand up, they even stuck their heads out to try to see what was going on, which aroused the vigilance of the accompanying guard.
Emperor Zhao's heart was slightly moved, and he recalled a classic scene in history books. He actually walked over with a smile, and came to a distance of only seven or eight steps from those people. Then, he held his belt with one hand and pointed at his face with the other hand and introduced himself in the courtyard:
"Do you, Liangshan heroes, want to see what the emperor really looks like? Why not take a closer look? I am nothing but a nose and two eyes."
All the people from Liangshanpo in the corridor were in an uproar and rushed out of the corridor. The imperial guards did not panic at first, but Zhang Rong did... What if there was a bad guy like Lao Wu in here who had bad intentions, what should he do?
So, Zhang Rong stepped forward and blocked Zhao Guanjia's way, and then personally escorted Zhao Guanjia out of the hospital.
Before leaving, Zhang Da chieftain complained: "Why should the government bother with those birds?"
Zhao Jiu didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and could only shake his head: "They are all heroes!"
Zhang Rong recalled what he saw at Nanxun Gate today, and couldn't help but sigh: "He who becomes the top scholar in the imperial court and wears a red flower when he goes out on the street is a true hero."
Zhao Jiu's heart was slightly moved, but he said nothing and just said goodbye and left.
Nothing was said at the time, but the next morning, the palace issued an edict to the capital and the Privy Council, formally summoning Zhang Rong, the pacification envoy of Dongping Prefecture, and ordering the ministers to meet him in the palace.
This is what the title implies... The war in Dongping Prefecture ended very smoothly. Although the golden medal not to expand the war has been delivered to the front line and Zhang Rong took the initiative to come to see him, it does not mean that there are no things to deal with.
How did the fake Crown Prince Liu Lin verify his identity and then execute him? How did the head of the fake Marshal Kong Yanzhou be hung at the door for public display?
How were Yue Fei and Zhang Rong rewarded?
How should Zhang Rong's troops of Liangshanpo be dealt with, and under what name should they continue to exist and be reorganized?
Which military governor's defense zone should Dongping Prefecture and Yanzhou be included in?
The battle between the Palace Attendant Censor Wanqi Xie and the Imperial Guard Commander Yang Yi Zhong was unsuccessful, and the pseudo-Prime Minister Hong Ya actually ran away. How should we discuss the merits and demerits of this battle?
There are big and small things, and logically there should have been plans, but this battle was fought hastily and ended quickly, which somewhat caught the central government officials by surprise.
Especially during these days, in sharp contrast to the short, fierce and suddenly changing situation in Dongping, with Prime Minister Lu persuading Emperor Zhao to hold a special examination and granting special permission for wealthy families to redeem refugees from Hebei and set up provincial students and imperial students, many literati and wealthy families gradually gathered in the capital, and the number of them kept increasing, and the important officials in the central government could not help but be distracted.
Therefore, it is necessary to have the ministers gather before the emperor to deal with these matters directly.
No matter what, Zhang Rong was confused this morning. First, someone brought him a pair of official robes, and then someone came out from the palace to explain the etiquette... Although Emperor Zhao came to comfort him personally yesterday and he felt relieved, he still couldn't help being in a panic.
Especially when he entered the palace and saw that although the palace was desolate and sparsely populated, it still had the scale and structure of the former palace, he was even more astonished and became more cautious.
However, after entering the hall and paying homage, he looked up and saw with his own eyes that the person sitting on the throne was the same person from yesterday. Knowing that he had not met a liar yesterday, Chief Zhang finally felt relieved.
Sure enough, Emperor Zhao was still as loyal as before, and he repeatedly protected the palace, and no unnecessary incidents arose.
Finally, with the strong push of Emperor Zhao and the clear discussion in the palace, Zhang Rong, who came to Beijing in person to show his sincerity, was formally appointed as the Jiedushi, and still stationed in Dongping Prefecture, serving as the commander-in-chief of the imperial camp navy. However, he almost maintained the original size of Liangshanpo and allowed this team to continue to be an independent army.
This not only made the Liangshanpo tribe officially incorporated into the imperial camp system, but also made Zhang Rong officially the eleventh person to be established as a saint after the Jingkang period (Li Gang, Zong Ze, Yuwen Xu Zhong, Lu Yihao, Liu Guangshi, Han Shizhong, Zhang Jun, Li Yanxian, Yue Fei, Wang Yan)... From now on, this person is a prominent figure in the world, and even more so in the court.
Although several ministers had their own ideas about this, they tacitly accepted this arrangement.
However, it is worth mentioning that this acceptance is not only an approval of Zhang Rong's behavior, nor is it just obedience to Emperor Zhao's military authority. There is also something difficult to say, but it is something that the central government officials understand tacitly, and even a cliché.
The question and the answer lie in Yue Fei.
In other words, it was Yue Fei and his front-line troops in the imperial camp.
You should know that before Zhang Rong was appointed as Jiedushi, the ministers in the palace had already discussed it clearly with the emperor, and at the same time gave Yue Fei the title of Shao Bao, and concurrently took charge of the military affairs of Yanzhou. After this incident, Yue Fei, who was only 27 years old, was officially on par with Zhang Jun, 44 years old, and Li Yanxian, 36 years old, and was second only to Han Shizhong.
Moreover, his Imperial Camp Front Army was the largest army at present (with a fixed quota of 55,000), and the defense area that actually inherited the defense previously led by Zhang Suo and part of the defense of the Tokyo Liaison Office was also the largest one (Guangji Army, Jeju, Yanzhou, Xingren Prefecture, Shanzhou, Yingtian Prefecture, and also assisted in the defense of Huazhou and Kaifeng Prefecture).
In fact, as early as the Heyin reorganization, some people had been a little uneasy about Emperor Zhao letting a young man like Yue Fei inherit the huge legacy of the Tokyo Liaison Office... This was not out of jealousy or resentment, nor was it out of distrust, but was really out of public interest, because the number of troops in the Tokyo Liaison Office at that time plus the number of Yue Fei's own Jeju Army accounted for almost half of the entire Central Plains troops, and Yue Fei was so young, not to mention the previous example of Kong Yanzhou.
Therefore, everyone would have some grumbles, not to mention the central government officials who want to maintain the balance of power, which is almost an instinct.
The only difference was that Emperor Zhao had great prestige at that time, so it was difficult to refute.
Later, the central government in Tokyo gradually stabilized, the relationship between the emperor and his subjects gradually became stable, and the political situation stabilized. At this time, Yue Fei once again stood out and made many contributions - the rebellion in the southeast and the battle of Dongping Prefecture were both fought extremely beautifully.
Moreover, as this young general was officially promoted to a general, some of his other strengths also became apparent: he liked reading and could write lyrics; he even had certain political insights and was able to come up with "The Good Horse Pair"; most importantly, he had clear military discipline and outstanding personal morality, which was far superior to that of other generals.
Moreover, when discussing the quotas for each army, he did not use his troops to gain power, but directly acknowledged the accusation that the quality of the troops in the Tokyo Garrison was mixed, and agreed to the plan to cut more than half of the troops in the front army .
All his actions were impeccable...it almost made people feel that he was like Zhuge Liang among military officials.
But the more this happened, the more alert some people became... It's really not these people's fault, because there really was a Zhuge Liang among the civil officials, which led Emperor Zhao to use Zhuge Liang to motivate the civil officials around him, but there has never been a Zhuge Liang among the military officials.
In fact, for the central government in Tokyo, they have maintained a certain degree of restraint in the face of Yue Fei this time, and have maintained considerable respect for the overall situation of the fight against Jin - apart from anything else, as Yue Fei once again made contributions, his status was improved and his jurisdiction expanded, and in fact no one really stopped him for no reason.
However, this does not mean that they cannot make corresponding restrictions and arrangements in other ways.
For example, letting Lu Xing, a veteran, stay in Nanjing City, Yingtian Prefecture, is one means.
For example, the reason why Zhang Rong's exceptional promotion was so smooth this time was actually somewhat like Xiang Zhuang dancing with a sword to target Pei Gong - it always makes people feel at ease to have Zhang Rong leading such an independent army in Dongping Prefecture.
Regarding this, even if Zhang Rong had a ruthless face and a bright heart, he could not sense the trick for a moment. He just felt that the Zhao official in Tokyo was really loyal, and the gentlemen were all fair and even generous. It was nothing like what he had worried about before, not to mention the five hundred swordsmen... The worries he had when he came here were simply a joke.
If I have to say something inappropriate, it would be that scholar Kobayashi, who was said to be his guarantor and should have been traveling with him, but he acted like a taciturn person the whole time.
No matter what, Zhang Rong's entry into Beijing was handled properly and beautifully, and before he left, Emperor Zhao personally took him to the Genyue ruins for a hunting trip, and invited him to come to Tokyo again before the Mid-Autumn Festival to see those "real heroes wearing flowers".
Zhang Rong naturally agreed.
